Nogales hears public input and staffs narrow options as it moves to apply for $440,128 in CDBG funding

The Nogales City Council on June 10 held a public hearing on the city’s 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) options and heard a presentation from SEGO staff on next-step requirements for applying.

Will Osborne, SEGO’s community and economic development manager, introduced community coordinator Maria Vayas, who told the council that Nogales is entitled to a regional-account award of $440,128 for 2026 if the city submits a complete application and environmental review. Vayas described three CDBG accounts—regional, competitive state special projects, and colonia set-aside—and explained eligibility rules. She said projects must meet a national objective (typically benefiting low- and moderate-income persons) and fit program categories such as water/wastewater, sidewalks/ADA, community facilities, housing rehabilitation, or urgent public-health needs.

“Your regional account is a reliable funding source for a single, shovel-ready project,” Vayas said, and recommended council adopt a resolution tonight for the regional account so the city does not need to re-notice another public hearing and risk missing application deadlines.

Council members and staff discussed options for using the regional account for a single larger water-infrastructure project versus using competitive funds for additional projects. Public Works Director Eric Stewart and other staff urged that applications include specific maps and engineering details where possible; staff said ready projects with engineering in hand typically perform better in competitive rounds.

Councilmembers raised timing concerns. Staff said the state’s notice-of-funding-availability for competitive grants often appears with short turnaround and encouraged the council to identify candidate projects (for example, a park restroom project or a defined water improvement in a Colonia) and authorize staff to prepare the necessary maps and engineering descriptions.

No final project selection was made; council approved the procedural order to certify and submit the regional-account and colonia set-aside applications later in the meeting. Staff said they will update the applicant contact information (Mike Melendez) and provide draft resolution language and project maps for council consideration.

Why this matters: CDBG regional funds are unrestricted within statutory categories and offer Nogales a predictable federal funding source for infrastructure or community facility work. Choosing a clearly defined, eligibility-aligned project now will preserve the city’s regional entitlement while staff continues to assemble competitive applications for larger or parallel projects.

Next steps: Council directed staff to prepare resolution language, maps, and the application packet for the regional account and to provide additional technical analyses for projects council wishes to prioritize.